“I think he’s a good player.”

Who will the Atlanta Hawks select with the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft?

It’s a question that doesn’t have a clear answer at the moment as the draft draws closer, but the Hawks are going through a thorough process and want to make sure the decision they make is the right one. Atlanta didn’t expect to be in this position, as they only had a 3% chance of winning the draft lottery, but now they have a potential building block to help take this team to the next level .

Right after the lottery, the popular choice to mock the Hawks was French great Alex Sarr. Atlanta has struggled on the defensive end in recent seasons and lacks size, athleticism and length, which Sarr brings in spades. He is 7’1, 220 LBS and has a wingspan of 7’4. He uses his athleticism well and would immediately be an impact guy on that side of the floor. He’s arguably the highest prospect in the draft at a position of need for the Hawks.

Today, Atlanta Hawks general manager Landry Fields met with the media and answered questions ahead of the 2024 draft. Fields was asked about Sarr towards the end of his article and here’s what he had to say:

“He’s a good player, who should go pretty high from what I’ve heard. He has a lot of tools that you would want at the NBA level.”

While Sarr is touted as a top player on the defensive court, many questions arise about his offensive game. Fields was asked about this and what he thought about Sarr’s potential progression to that end:

“I think with Sarr and the other guys, you’re going to see some areas that they need to grow in. So for a guy that we bring in, we’re going to think very highly of him.”

Fields was also asked about the possibility of going back and getting multiple picks rather than staying first overall and here’s what he had to say:

“Yeah, so as a group we looked at a ton of different scenarios, keeping the pick, going back to the draft, and all the things you talk about and where we are right now is we’ll pick No. 1. 1, but yeah, I don’t think it would be wise for us not to look at those scenarios, but we’ve looked at a ton of them and we’ll continually look at them as well.”

When asked if he was committed to using the No. 1 pick, this was Fields’ response:

“Today we are considering choosing No. 1.”

It looks like everything is on the table for the Hawks and a lot can change next week. Fields also explained how locked the Hawks roster is currently and what it would take for one player to leapfrog another and reach No. 1:

“I would say a week ago it was broader than it is today, the board is definitely structuring and growing. To be No. 1, there has to be a guy which we consider to be a good choice for us, not only for the next day, but also for the future.

Fields mentioned they are also going to bring in more prospects for workouts this week. This is going to be an interesting week for Fields and the rest of the front office as they try to figure out what they want to do with the No. 1 pick.